GIRLI - JULY JONES - LEDBYHER

Voodoo Daddy’s – a fearlessly independent pizza joint and venue, what better place to host an unapologetically fierce line-up to GIRLI’s most anticipated tour yet?

Immediately I was captivated by just the support acts. First up was King’s Lynn’s very own Ledbyher, who shocked many members of the audience, including me, when she revealed she had only just recently turned 18, she had control of the crowd like someone who had been in this industry for years. My personal favourite of hers was NIKES, her vibe caught my eyes and ears as well as many others around me. Her music embodies a perfect mix of Dreampop and elements of UK Drill, she is definitely worth checking out, I’m excited for what she has in store for the future.

Second up was July Jones, which enchanted me right away with her edgy electro-pop and catchy hooks which include unapologetically forward-thinking lyrics on her experience as a queer woman, relationships and mental health, she was definitely the best warm up to GIRLI. As soon as she hit the small but mighty Voodoo Daddy’s stage, the crowd was in the palm of her hands; especially during Butterflies, the crowd was in a frenzy jumping and screaming lyrics most only learnt that night. Her music is about pushing boundaries and being unapologetically you and last night was proof of that.

Now we get the one that we’ve all been waiting for…music has kicked in, GIRLI is in control of the room, surrounded by neon lights and a big Damsel in Distress backdrop, the stage looked like home to her, as if she had never been away. Being no stranger to Norwich, she joked about how it’s one of her favourite cities because it’s full of “cool queer artsy people, and I am a cool queer artsy person”; undoubtedly, she is one of our favourite people. Her perfect symmetry between electric and high energy songs like Day Month Second and ballads like Dysmorphia reminds us that as an artist she is incredibly versatile in the way she can make a crowd emotional then immediately have them jumping and moshing to the next song, there aren’t many that can control a crowd the way she did. One of my favourite tracks last night was a bit of a throwback, she asked the crowd who had been listening to her music since 2017, me and a few others put their hand up; as a queer person myself, when I first discovered GIRLI that year, it was like discovering a gold mine, Girl I met On The Internet is the song that always reminds me of her and the time where I wasn’t yet comfortable with myself, unsurprisingly the crowd sang every single word, it was a collective favourite.